Staple extractor



Nov. 13, 1934. J, F. cAvANAGH 1,980,573

STAPLE EXTRACTOR Filed Feb's. 1934 2 sheets-sheet 1 wail/Lyin Nov. 13, 1934. J. F. CAVANAGH STAPLE EXTRACTOR 2 Sheets-sheet 2 Filed Feb. 3, 1954 Patented Nov. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES wissens;

ATE l FFECE s'rArLs nxraao'ron Application February 3, 1934, Serial No. 709,613

12 Claims.

rIhis invention relates to an implement for extracting orv withdrawing staples and similar fasteners from articles held together or fastened thereby and particularly to a staple-extracting device of the same general character as that shown and described in my copending application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 625,720, led July 29, 1932, patented April 24, 1934 as Patent No. 1,956,166. The present invention consists in improvements in the construction and method of operation of the' device, which, in its preferred form, is constituted as a plier-like implement adapted to be manually operated to extract the staples without mutilating or otherwise damaging the sheets of material or other articles fastened thereby.

One object of the invention is to provide a lightweight, compact device of the type indicated which may be used as a desk implement 2 'or carried in the pocket.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated having means for insertion under the head of a staple to press against the work and other means slidable rela- Atively thereof to withdraw the staple.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated which is operative to withdraw or extract the staple by causing its clinched legs to be straightened whereby to pre- 3 vent tearing or mutilating the paper or otherwise damaging the work.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type indicated which is operative to extract or withdraw the staple without buckling or bending its head or crossbar so as to prevent tearing the paper or other material through which the staple is clinched.l

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and eflicient device of the type indicated comprised of a minimum number of sheetmetal parts adapted for economical manufacture and easy methods of assembling.

Further objects of the invention are set forth in the following specication which describes a preferred form of construction of the device, by way of example, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the present improved staple-extracting device showing the parts in normal position;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same Fig. 3 is a plan View similar to Fig. 1 showing a portion of the jaws of the device as broken 55 away to illustrate the interior parts in the position they assumeV at the completion of the stapleextracting operation;

Fig. fl is an enlarged plan view of the jaws ofthe device showing the beak or blade on one of the jaws as inserted beneath the head or crossbar of a staple in preparation for its removal from the work;

Fig. 5 is a similar View illustrating the parts in position at approximately the point of completion oi" the withdrawal ofthe staple;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side view of a portion of the staple-extracting members illustratin them in position as shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a View similar to Fig. 6 showing the staple-extracting 'members in position as illus- 70 trated in Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of the staple-extracting members taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 6; v

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view of the 75 staple-extracting memberstaken on line 9 9` of Fig.`7;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the fore part of the device showing the staple-extractingv members in position at the completion of the withdrawal of the staple; i

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the fore part of the Adevice illustrating another method of removing staples which have been driven into the work without clinching; Y

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of the holding beak or blade of the device; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective .View of the prying member. v i

v As before indicated, my invention is preferably embodied in a plier-like device having pivoted handle-members with jaws adapted to beA moved relatively of each other under manual pressure on the handles. One jaw of the implel ment is provided with a beak-like blade adapted for insertion under the head or crossbar of a staple and the other jaw carries a prying member for engaging against the crossbar of the staple to slide it laterally upon the blade to cause its legs to be bent over the inclined edges thereof and pried upwardly from the work.

As in the invention of my patent application above referred to, the present device comprises two pivotally connected members 2 and 3 provided at one end with opposed jaws 4 and 5 105 and at the opposite end withlcurved handles 6 and 7. The jaws 4 and 5 are of channel-shape in cross-section, being formed with opposite side walls 8 connected by integral portions 9. The members 2 and 3 are pivoted together by means 110 of a stud 10 having peripheral grooves 11 for receiving the edges of semicircular sockets in the opposite side walls 8 of the jaws 4 and 5.

The members 2 and 3 are normally held with their jaws 4 and 5 in closed relationship, as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a spring 12 having its looped end formed to substantially surround the pivot-stud 10. The opposite divergent legs of the spring 12 are slotted longitudinally at 13 to adapt them to engage'under the heads of studs 14 riveted through the jaws and projecting on the inner sides thereof. ac ts to maintain the jaws 4 and 5 in engagement with the grooves in the pivot-stud 10. Pressure on the handles 6 and 7 causes the spring 12 to flex to permit the jawsl to open during the operation of extracting the staple in the manner illustrated in Fig. l3. Ears or lugs 16 bent inwardly from the sides of the handles 6 and '7 of the members 2 and 3 lare adapted to contact to act as stops for limiting the pivotal movement of the parts at the completion of the staple-retracting operation. v

A blade-like member 20 mounted on the jaw 4 of the device is shaped to adapt it to be wedged between the paper or other object and the head of the staple in removing the latter from the work. The blade member 20, shown in detail in Fig. 12, is constituted by a strip of sheet-metal folded or bent into part-rectangular shape to provide a bottom portion 21, a vertical side 22 and a top portion or guard 23 extending laterally in parallel spaced relation to the bottom portion 21. The member 20 is assembled on the jaw 4 of the member 2 with its bottom and top 'portions 21 and 23 enclosing and overlapping the side walls 8 thereof and its vvertical side 22 secured against the lflat connecting portion 9 of the jaw.v The member 20 is held in rigid connection with the jaw 4 by means of the stud 14, previously mentioned, the reduced end of which passes through a hole 17 in theside 22 of the member 20.and is riveted over thereagainst, see Fig. 3. When the member 20 is thus mounted on the jaw 4 the extremity of its top portion 23 extends across and overlaps the top of the jaw 5 to serve as a guard to prevent the fingers from being caught and pinched therebetween. The portion 23 of the member 20 ralso cooperates with the under portion 21 thereof which underlies the jaw 4 to maintain the jaws in .alinement The bottom portion 21 of the member 20 is extendedforwardly in a beak or blade 25, inclined upwardly in substantially arcuate shape and terminating in a rounded point 26. One side of the blade 25 is cut away at 27 to form a laterally-disposed pointed prong 28 adaptedv to be` wedged under the head Vor crossbar of the staple between its legs prior to removingit from the work. The blade 25 projects-forwardly from the jaw, 4 in angular relation thereto so that it I the prong 28 is inserted beneath the head 0f the The spring 12 also.

staple its inclined edges bring up against the inner sides of the legs thereof and means as next described are provided for forcing the head of the staple laterally upon the upper surface of the blade 25 to withdraw the staple from the work.

Riveted to the inner face of the flat portion 9 of the jaw 5 by means of the stud 14 is a prying member 30 constructed from a strip of sheetmetal shaped tothe form shown in Fig. 13. The forward end of the vmember 30 which projects from the jaw 5 is bent at a substantially right-angle to its mainportion and then continued in an offset, substantially triangular portion 31. The lower edge of the triangular portion 31 is of arcuatev shape as indicated at 32 in Figs.' 2 and 13 with a centrally located ear or protuberance 35 projecting downwardly therefrom. Thelower edge of the ear 35 is beveled to form a relatively blunt or obtuse point 36 adapted to fit within land slide along the depression` 29 in the top of the blade 25 during the withdrawal of a staple from the work. The construction and arrangement of the parts of the implement having now been described in detail its method of operation will next be explained.

Wire staples and similar fasteners are employed Very generally for attaching papers and documents and also for many other1 purposes, such as attaching tags and labels to articles of commerce, tacking sheets of paper to drawing boards, fastening shades to rollers, matting and the like to floors and in sundry other uses too numerous to mention. In some cases the staplesV are used as a permanent fastening means, but in other instances their use is temporary when it is desired to detach the papers or other articles. Various expedients have been 'tried for applying the staples to the work in such manfrom the workl conveniently and expeditiouslyr without danger of tearing the papers or otherwise mutilating the articles fastened thereby.

In operating the present device the handles A 6 and '7 of the pliers are grasped in the usual manner withthe jaws inclined downwardly and held in closed relationship by the spring 12 as shown in Fig. 1. VHolding the work w with one hand, the operator simply inserts the sharpened prong 28 of the blade 25 under the crossbar b of the staple s and slides it laterally untilfthe inclined edges of the prong or point 28 bring up against the legs of the staple as shown in Fig. 4. When the prong 28 has been inserted beneath the head of the staple s in this manner the prying member 30 will be positioned at a distance from the end of the prong 28 and it is then only necessary to force the handles 6 and 7 toward each other to withdraw the staple in the manner as next explained.

As pressure is exerted on the handles 6"and 7 of the pliers the opposed jaws 4 and 5 are forced apart against the tension of the spring 12. During this action of the jaws the prong 28 is held stationary beneath the head ofthe staple and the prying member 30 is moved against the staple in the manner as illustrated in Figs. 4, 6`

and 8. As the ear 35 of the prying member 30 is slid across the top of the blade 25 it contacts with the head or crossbar b of the staple s and acts to force it laterally across the blade 25. The inclined edges of the prong 28 serve as a'butments for holding the legs of the staple s as the head b is forced laterally thereacross, thereby causing the legs to be bent back as shown in Figs. 5 and 9. Further pressure of the member 30 against the staple sv acts nally to completely withdraw its legs from the papers .or other work in the manner as indicated in Fig.

As the staple is withdrawn in this manner the clinched ends of its legs are bent back and straightened while at the same time the sheets of paperl or other articles are held from buckling or bending. Stated another way, the. bent ends of the legs of the staple areA forced apart through their engagement with the inclined edges of the prong 28 and thus .are straightened Without tending to tear or mutilate the paper sheets or other articles through which the staple is clinched. As has been demonstrated in practice, the legs of thestaple will be straightened and Withdrawn from the 'work `without tearing or greatly enlarging the holes through which the legs have been clinched.

During the extraction of the staple in the manner as above explained its legs straddle the ends of the ear 35 so that the head of the staple is prevented from buckling and pulled evenly across the top of the blade 25. The point 36 on the bottom of the ear 35 slides in the depression' 29 in the blade 25 to provide that the crossbar b o` the staple will be positively engaged even though the blade is canted slightly with respect to the work. Stated another way, the point 36 extends downwardly below the crossbar of the staple and thus the center of the crossbar is always engaged even though the implement is rocked or canted beyond its normal position in relation to the work.

In many cases staples are driven into objects lwithout clinching their legs as, for example, in

attaching tags or labels to boxes, drawings to boards and for similar purposes. 'I'he present device may be used conveniently in another way to extract fasteners applied in this manner.

IFig. l1 of the drawings illustrates a staple s driven into a board or box to secure a tag t thereto. To remove a staple applied in this manner it may be more convenient to insert the forward sharpened point 26 of the blade 25 beneath the head or crossbar b of the staple whereof to pry it upwardly forni the work by rocking the handles downwardly.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the present invention provides a most convenient and eihcient appliance for extracting staples and similar fasteners when it is required to detach the articles held together or fastened thereby. The device is extremely simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, besides being 'light in weight and of small compass to render the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

l. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a pair of pivoted members, a substantially rlat blade on one of the members inclined to the pivotal axis of said members and having a wedge-shaped point adapted for insertion Linder the head of a staple, and means on the opposite member adapted to slide across the top of said blade to engage the head of the staple to cause its legs to be withdrawn from the work as they are held by the angularly dispose edges of the point on the blade.

2. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a pair or pivoted members having handles at one end and jaws at the opposite end, a blade projecting from one jaw in a plane inclined to the pivotal axis of said members and formed on one side with a point for insertion under the/head of a staple, and means on the opposite jaw adapted to slide across the top of the blade when the handles are pressed together 'to engage the head of the staple to withdraw the latter from the work.

3. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a pair of pivoted members having handles at Vone end and jaws at the opposite end, a blade on one jaw disposed in a plane inclined to the pivotal axis of said members and formed with a point projecting at substantially right-angles to the opposite jaw adapted for insertion under the head of a staple, and means on the last-named jaw arranged to wipe across the top of the blade when the handles are pressed together to engage the head of the staple to withdraw it from the work as its legs are held by the edges of the point on the blade.

4. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a pair of pivoted members having handles at one end and jaws at the opposite end, a blade projecting from one of the jaws in angular relation to the pivotal axis of said members to adapt it to be placed against the work and inserted under the head of the staple with the handles inclined upwardly from the work, and means on the opposite jaw adapted to be moved across the top of the blade to engage the head of the staple to withdraw it from the Work when the handles are pressed together.

5. In a device of the type indicated, the combination of a pair of pivoted members having handles at one end and jaws at the opposite end, a blade projecting forwardly from one jaw and inclined at an angle to the pivotal axis of the members to adapt it to be placed hat against the work with the handles inclined upwardly therefrom, and means on the opposite jaw adapted to slide across the blade to engage the staple to withdraw it from the work when the handles are pressed together.

6. A plier device comprising pivoted members having movable jaws, a substantially flat blade projecting from one of the jaws at an angle to the pivotal axis of said members and formed with a point on its side Jfor insertion under the head or a staple, and a member on the opposite jaw having its edge conforming to the top of the blade and adapted to slide laterally thereacross to engage the head of the staple to withdraw it from the work when the jaws are moved relatively of each other.

A plier device comprising pivoted members having movable jaws, a blade projecting forwardly from one of the jaws and inclined to the pivotal axis of said members with a point on its side adapted for insertion under the head of a staple, and an element on the opposite jaw having its edge shaped to conform to the top of the blade to adapt it to wipe thereacross when the jaws are moved relatively of each other to cause it to engage the head of the staple to withdraw it from the work.

8. In a plier device, the combination of pivoted members having handles at one end, a blade projecting from the opposite end of one of said members at an angle to the pivotal axis thereof and formed with a V-shaped point adaptedfor insertion under the head of a staple with its inclined edges engaging against the legs thereof,`

and a blade on the opposite jaw disposedA at substantially 4right-angles to the first blade to adapt its edge to slide across the top of the irst blade Whenthe handles are pressed together to force the staple out of the work while its legs are held and straightened by the edges of the pointed blade.

9. In a plier device, thecombination of pivoted members having handles at one end, a blade projecting from the opposite end of one of saidv members in inclined relation to the pivotal of said members, and a second blade projectingl from the opposite end of the other member in a plane substantially parallel with the pivotalaxis of said members and offset at its end in a portion formed with its edge inclined in conformity with the inclination of the blade to adapt it to wipe thereacross when the handles are pressed together.v

,10. In a plier device, the combination of pivoted members having handles at one end and jaws at the opposite end, a blade projecting laterally from one jaw beneath the jaw on the opposite member and extending forwardly there from at an angle to the pivotal axisl of said members, said blade formed with a V-shaped point for insertion under `the head of a staple, and an element projecting forwardly from the jaw of the opposite member in a plane parallel with the pivotal axis of the members and hav- L ing its lower edge shaped to conform to the top of the blade to adapt it to wipe thereacross to engage the head of the staple to withdraw the latter from the work.

1l. In aplier device, the combination of a pair of pivotally connected members having handles at one end and jaws at the opposite end, an element shaped to substantially rectangular form enclosing one of the jaws and having portions straddlingthe opposite jaw, said element formed with a forwardly projecting blade disposed at an angley tothe pivotal axis ofthe members and having a point for insertion under the head of a staple, andan element projecting from the opposite jaw of said members and formed with an inclined edge adapted to slide across the top of the blade when the handles of the plier members are pressed together.

l2.` Inap-lier device, the combination of a pair of pivoted membersv having handles at one end and jaws at the opposite end, a pointed blade projecting fromr one jaw in inclined relation to the pivotal axis of said members, the top of the blade being formed with beveled faces meeting in a crease, and an element projecting from the opposite jaw in substantially parallel relation to the pivotal axis of the members and. having an edge shaped to conform to the. beveled faces on the top of the blade.

JOHN F. CAVANAGH. 

